


Utraque Unum

by GunnerPalace



Series: Sakura Fireworks (Demons of the Sun and Moon) [5]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Love Confessions, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 18:45:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13553358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GunnerPalace/pseuds/GunnerPalace
Summary: The day after their sparring session, Kūkaku and Byakuya are left to grapple with their deepening feelings for one another in their own ways. Things don’t go as either really planned when they finally bring them up with one another.





	Utraque Unum

**Author's Note:**

> This work is set within the timeline of [Demons of the Sun and Moon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5970034/chapters/13720852), particularly after the events of Chapter 61 (October 1, 2002). Some of the finer details (like why Kūkaku has her right arm back) are explained therein, but this series can largely be read as a standalone. This was originally written for KuuKuya Weekend 2017 on Tumblr.
> 
> Kuchiki Chiyo is a canonical character from the novel _The Death Saves The Strawberry_.

**Mid-April, 2003**

Kūkaku lightly bit down on the end of her  _kiseru_  pipe and closed her eyes, reclining back against the thick oak tree she was situated next to. Smoking inside was the only thing that Byakuya had denied her during her stays at the manor. She'd never questioned it—his house, his rules—and it'd been a good reason to cut back; with the turning of the weather it was also a reason to idle outside too. He never said anything about it, even after they'd started being intimate—not that he ever would, knowing him—but she'd quickly started taking care to clean out her mouth before being around him. She sighed around the mouthpiece.  _I should probably just quit..._

She was almost finished when she heard the rustling of footsteps on the grass that surrounded the tree. Her brows furrowed at the noise. His servants were so damn persistent and worried about her all the time. Was it for her sake, or his, or both? They surely knew some of what was going on... "I said I don't need a blanket," she stated around the pipe.

"Um, excuse me for interrupting, Kūkaku- _sama_..." a young woman's voice replied.

Kūkaku found she couldn't place it and opened her eyes warily. Standing before her was a petite woman with copper hair and brown eyes. Her fair face was dusted with freckles and she looked fidgety. She seemed rather young and Kūkaku lifted an eyebrow slightly. They hadn't met before, but she might've seen her around.

The woman smiled and bowed respectfully. "My name is Kuchiki Chiyo."

Kūkaku studied her for a little longer before blowing out a final puff of smoke. She brought her  _kiseru_  to the small pot she'd brought along and rotated it. With a single tap she dumped out all the ash. Many of the servants—but by no means all of them—seemed to be related to the clan by blood. There was nothing particularly unusual about that, and it was no business of hers to act like she ran the place—she was still a guest. "What can I do for you?"

"Um, I—sorry again—" she began.

Kūkaku sighed again and suppressed a frown. She sat up, leaned forward, and drew up her knees to rest her arms on them. "Go on already."

Chiyo looked up at her tone. Those turquoise-green eyes were watching her coolly. Her smile turned nervous. "Uh… Given your status, and the arrangements that were promulgated last fall, would I be correct in assuming you know Rukia- _dono_?"

No expense had been spared in making sure everyone in the Seireitei had learned of the arrangement of Ichigo and Rukia's engagement. Word had quickly spread within the clan about other terms underlying the deal. Kūkaku's almost constant presence since then had just served to reinforce the whispers. It was rumored that when she seemed to occasionally disappear for a week or so it was to visit her relatives in the Living World. It stood to reason she saw Rukia then. The last time she'd been absent had been sometime before all the  _other_  stories started floating around, but that had only been a few weeks prior.

Chiyo hadn't seen Rukia since her brief visit the year prior, when she'd suddenly become an overnight pop sensation along with the other former intruders. It'd taken her months to work up the nerve to ask, but there she was.

Kūkaku blinked and visibly eased. "Yeah, I know Rukia."

Chiyo's smile became natural again. "If it's not an imposition to ask... how is she doing?"

Kūkaku stared for a second but gestured for her to sit. "How do you know her?"

After only a moment, Chiyo lowered herself down into a kneeling position, taking care so as not to get grass stains her  _hakama_. She couldn't stop herself from beaming. "I was assigned to her when she first came here! Since she became a  _fukutaichō_  she's often stayed with her division, but I'm still on call for when she returns!"

Kūkaku blinked again. A beat passed before she finally let a smirk cross her lips. Memories of Rukia smiling and laughing with Ichigo, Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu flashed through her mind, along with times she'd done the same with Ganju—and with her. "I…" The smirk became a smile. It might not be wrong to call them friends at that point, not just family-to-be. "I think she's really happy."

Chiyo clapped her hands in front of her and locked her fingers together. "Really?!"

It was all Kūkaku could do to keep from laughing at the young woman's excitement. Something about it was so earnest and infectious. "Yeah, really! I have an uncle and three cousins—Ichigo is one of them—and they always treat her like—" she broke off and refocused on Chiyo as she heard her sniffle.

Chiyo had brought a hand up to her eyes to hide the fact she was crying. She sniffled again and waved a hand dismissively before pressing it to the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I should—"

Kūkaku was already in motion. She pushed herself up into a kneeling stance and leaned forward, grasping the woman's shoulders. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Chiyo hesitated before accepting the embrace, her training forgotten for just a moment in the swell of emotion. "I'm just... I'm so  _happy_  for her!" Rukia had known so much loneliness and heartache and to hear that she was not even merely content, but finally truly happy was...

Almost immediately Kūkaku felt hot tears spill down her neck. She searched in the distance for a short time before closing her eyes and drawing the Kuchiki woman closer. "It's okay. That's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

They stayed together for a half a minute before Chiyo abruptly tensed as she remembered her station. She tried to pull back. "Kūkaku- _sama_ , I—"

"I said that it's okay." Kūkaku kept her voice quiet and only mildly chided, "You're a human being before you're anything else."

Chiyo lightly grasped at Kūkaku's clothing.

She gave the girl a pat on the back of the head.

"Byakuya- _sama_  is... really lucky to have met someone like you," Chiyo quietly ventured, sniffling again.

Kūkaku let out a small laugh only to stop when she heard a tinge of nervousness to it. "Wha—What do you mean by something like that? We're not—it's not like we get along well!" She knew they  _knew_ , yet still... this was still supposed to be a ruse!

"He's always such an unyielding pain in the ass," she mumbled in addition. She immediately regretted her choice of words as a memory of the previous day hit her: being on the wood floor on her shoulders and knees, Byakuya's abs against her as he—her cheeks turned pink and she opened her eyes to have something to look at—something to ward the thought off.

Chiyo didn't react to the slight against her clan's leader. "He... was never the same after Hisana- _sama_  died."

Kūkaku abruptly looked down at the top of Chiyo's crown of hair.

"It's... it's probably not my place to say, but... When he was younger, he had quite the temper, and he was always breaking the rules. When they were married, he became much milder, but he was plainly happy. When she died, he... wasn't really the same. It wasn't until after the incident with Rukia- _dono_  that I again saw shadows of the way he used to be. With her promotion, those became more common, but..."

Kūkaku blinked as Chiyo drew her head back and looked up at her with a smile.

"It might not show or seem obvious, but... I've had a long time to observe him, if only at a distance. He's... much happier with you around."

Kūkaku stared and only just barely kept her eyes from going wide.

Chiyo closed her eyes and pulled back, easily breaking the hug as she stood and turned to give the leader of the Shiba her privacy. "Thank you, Kūkaku- _sama_... for everything. Please, be at peace." With that she made her out of the garden, not looking back once.

Kūkaku watched her retreat until she was out of sight, only then leaning back so she was sitting again.

A minute passed before she flopped against the tree trunk and brought the back of a hand to her forehead. The air was still brisk but she felt hot, and she knew it wasn't just her lingering blush or the start of a fever. She shut her eyes. She was—she and Byakuya were both... they were both really falling in...

_... Fuck_ , she thought, looking about the garden, not wanting to complete the thought.

* * *

Byakuya picked up his final stack of paperwork and neatly squared it up before setting it aside on his desk for retrieval. With that, he pushed his chair back and stood, considering the Seireitei through his office window as he moved it back into place. It was still light out, and not simply because it was late spring. He took a breath—he'd already decided that today was the day he'd say something—and turned, departing.

He found the door to his  _fukutaichō_ 's office open as he passed by it, and stopped.

The man in question was hunched over his own stack of paperwork.

"Renji."

Renji started at Byakuya's voice and looked up with surprise. His commander's ability to sneak around over distances like those separating their offices was still unnerving. "Yes, Kuchiki- _taichō_?"

"I am leaving for the day. Things are in your hands."

Renji blinked and looked backward to confirm the time of day using the light from outside. He turned again with a quizzical look before trying on a small smile. Byakuya  _had_  been leaving earlier lately... not that he'd ever specified why. "Big night?"

A scowl crossed Byakuya's features. He walked off without another word.

Renji raised an eyebrow before looking down at his work again. "Was it something I said?"

* * *

Kūkaku cradled her hands around her teacup for warmth. The small tea house they had chosen to occupy after a leisurely dinner looked out onto a placid pond. She kept her focus on it. A single candle burned behind them but it did nothing to dull the twinned brilliance of the moon in the sky and water. She took a long gulp to empty her cup before setting it aside. Although it warmed her throat and belly, it did nothing to stop a shiver from wracking her—the days were sunny, if cool, but the nights were still cold.

Byakuya surreptitiously glanced sideways to her. Her goose bumps were obvious in the moonlight. He looked the other way and smoothly pulled off his  _haori_. He knew she'd never admit her choice in attire was still proving impractical.

She noticed the motion and turned to study him quizzically just as he'd gotten it off and was leaning over toward her. She blinked as their eyes met.

Byakuya studied her as he draped the  _haori_  over her shoulders.

Kūkaku stared for a moment before her expression became dismissive and she turned her head, decisively looking away.

He watched her for a short time, then turned his head back toward the pond. "My apologies, I know the material is cheap."

Her countenance mellowed and her eyelids lowered as she covertly drew the robe close. It was warm from his body heat. "Who said anything about that?"

The corners of his mouth tugged upward fractionally. "I did." She deserved better.

Kūkaku turned to regard him critically. The look on his face was so... considerate. Something about it made her chest squeeze around her heart and she looked down, pulling the  _haori_  tighter still around herself. After looking away, she shut her eyes and fought off the feelings surfacing within her.

Byakuya kept his attention off her as he again considered how to tell her how he felt.

There was a long silence before she quietly stated "You... knew Kaien." She'd never addressed the interactions of the two of them before, even when she had forced him to answer for his treatment of Ganju.

He blinked. There was a beat before he replied "Yes."

"You never got along." It was a statement. She'd only heard Kaien vent about Central 46 and the Gotei 13 a few times, but in retrospect it wasn't hard to figure out some of it had been about Byakuya.

Byakuya glanced down at the pond. "No. We did not."

"Think you would now?"

Byakuya was silent as he thought about Kūkaku and Ichigo. They were certainly both quite a lot like Kaien in their own ways.

"I think you might," she continued.

"Who can say?" It wasn't really a question.

She drew her knees up in front her and got her arms around them, continuing to look anywhere but at him. "It's not really fair, you know."

"What?"

"You knew him, but I never met Hisana."

For once, he wasn't really sure what to say, and looked aside.

Quite some time passed before she ventured "What... what was she like? Was she like Rukia?"

Byakuya took in a breath and slowly blew it out.

Kūkaku glanced to him before looking down. That was... surely too far. She know how she'd react if someone just suddenly brought up Kaien in front of her without being invited to. She brought her palms onto the floor and began to push herself up. "I—never mind—"

He reached to one side and lightly took her nearer wrist.

Her gaze shot to him in surprise as she abruptly became unsure of everything.

His eyes didn't meet hers, but... talking about such a thing was alright—with her.

Kūkaku searched his face as she felt her heart start to thrum.

Byakuya gently pulled her toward him.

Only a moment passed before she started to move, turning to face him and grasping his far shoulder. She could've fought, and part of her wanted to, but the rest of her simply didn't. As he slid an arm around her waist under the  _haori_  and helped draw her onto his lap, she pressed close to him, circled her free arm around his neck, and brought her head beneath his, resting her face in the crook of his neck. He was warm, so very warm.

Byakuya kept his attention on the moon's reflection in the still water, but lowered his chin down against her hair, taking in her scent. His hands naturally ran up and down along her back.

There was a long silence.

"She... both was and was not like Rukia," Byakuya eventually said. He was quiet.

Kūkaku stayed silent, just listening and letting him talk at his own pace.

"Rukia may be both elegant and spirited... but underneath both, there is a gentle earnestness and selflessness about her. Hisana was like that as well, although her expression of such a latitude of emotions was more... demure. She was much more... traditionally feminine. She would often conceal her true thoughts and feelings—hide her smiles, stifle her laughs, couch her anger or convictions in flowery or laconic speech... She was subtle, but in her interiority, she was as deep as the ocean."

Kūkaku looked to one side in thought—going by this, she and Hisana couldn't be more different... So why...

"Rukia will usually speak her mind; Hisana tended to let her silence speak for her," Byakuya finished.

Kūkaku quietly drew in a long breath through clenched teeth, and then let it out. "It sounds like she was very sophisticated."

Byakuya closed his eyes. "She would have found you enchanting."

At that, Kūkaku blinked.  _What...?_

He said nothing more and simply held her. It was hardly the time to tell her now...

As she idled in his arms, her thoughts turned to the morning talk she'd had with Rukia about Kaien on  _ohigan_  the prior year. She felt a sudden pang in her chest and stubbornly shut her eyes.  _So this is what it feels like for the shoe to be on the other foot..._

Another seemingly interminable quiet passed between them.

"You still pay your respects, don't you?" She could guess from his periodic absences in the mornings. It wasn't a daily thing, but it was frequent enough to notice.

"Yes."

"May I join you next time?" Kūkaku had been thinking about why Rukia had wanted to visit Masaki's grave on  _ohigan_ , and it seemed evident it had been to ask permission. She hadn't needed it, and neither did Kūkaku—nobody did from the truly dead—and yet... it seemed right to ask anyway.

Byakuya opened his eyes fractionally and glanced down at her crown before closing them again. "If that is your wish."

They sat together as the moon tracked up into the sky for sometime longer until he said, "The hour is growing late, and it will only become colder. We should retire."

She settled for nodding in response.

* * *

As Kūkaku dried her hair, she kept Byakuya in sight. The bath had been wonderfully soothing to mind and body alike, and she found herself newly invigorated, but her thoughts kept turning to him. He'd been quiet and a bit distant since the tea house, and although they'd cleaned up together, they'd largely kept to themselves.

She had eschewed wearing a  _hadajuban_  and stood there with simply her  _yukata_  on, draped about her shoulders, open to bare everything. She had nothing to hide from him, she liked him looking at her even if she'd never admit it, and she intended to shrug it off before slipping into bed with him anyway, yet he paid her not a jot of attention. It was confusing, and her emotions were a jumble after everything that'd happened that day—she couldn't help but frown.

Byakuya waited for her, wearing his  _yukata_  and the rest perfectly properly out of rote propriety and decorum, until she walked by him. He followed alongside her to bed.

Kūkaku cast off the  _yukata_  and slipped under the sheets without a second thought, getting settled on her side of the bed while Byakuya disrobed. Once she'd demonstrated her preference for sleeping nude, he'd never questioned it, and had silently adopted the practice himself.

Once he'd done so and settled into bed beside her, she waited—when he made no move to embrace her, she decided to finally do something about it. She turned over to face him and drew nearer, her face across from his on the same pillow. She studied him intently, but his eyes were closed and he seemed rather placid. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Don't give me that," she insisted.

Byakuya opened his eyes and met her gaze, seeing the frustration written all over her face. His lips twitched a bit but he kept his face controlled. "This is not really the time." There was a way to do these things properly...

"According to whom?" Kūkaku challenged.

His eyes lingered on hers, taking in the certitude of their set. She really was adamant about this...

He soon found one of her hands, her left, and took it in his.

Kūkaku glanced down at the contact, before locking eyes again, a perplexed expression on her face.

"There is something I must tell you," Byakuya said, once more closing his eyes.

She blinked. Something in his words made her mentally review the day in an instant. He had been working up to something—something that'd been derailed at the tea house, and...  _Oh, shit..._

"I—" Byakuya began.

"Stop!" she commanded.

Byakuya opened his eyes with what was clearly both surprise and agitation.

Kūkaku's focus darted all over his face. Yes, he had definitely been about to say  _that_... She scowled and tried to turn back around.

He kept ahold of her hand and didn't allow her to.  _The nerve of this woman... She drives me crazy..._

"Let go," she demanded.

"Allow me to finish," he countered.

This time she drew her other hand up—her right, the one she'd had restored so she could once more truly protect what mattered—in order to protect herself. In order to protect her heart. She clasped it over his mouth. "I don't want to hear that kind of thing!"

Byakuya grasped her right wrist, and when she struggled, he drew her to him.

Kūkaku fought him for a time, but finally ceased and just smacked her right hand against one of his pectorals before getting her forehead to his chin. "Don't tell me that," she harshly whispered.

He let out an exasperated breath, studying the space above her head.

Long seconds passed before she ran her fingertips over his chest and added, much more softly, "Show me."

Byakuya blinked.

Kūkaku leaned in and ducked her head, kissing her way down along the bottom of his chin and up under his jaw toward his throat, while she slowly ran her hands over him.

He kept hold of her upper arms for a second, then slid his hands up to her shoulders and down along her back, roving them over her with growing surety. At last, he traced one up into her soft hair, and the other down onto her exquisite curves.

Kūkaku arched her back, pressing her rear into his hand while her chest brushed against his abs and ribs. She pushed closer to him, tangling their legs together, wanting to feel him.

Byakuya moved with her and embraced her for a short while, then rolled with her so she was on her back, her head against the pillow, kissing her.

She flexed up against him and held the kiss for a time, then deliberately broke it, cupping his cheeks.

His eyes met hers.

"Show me how you feel," Kūkaku said, somewhere between an entreaty and an instruction, watching him intently.

Byakuya closed his eyes and kissed her again, turning his head to make it deep as he ran a hand through her hair and started to steadily fondle her with adoration.

* * *

He was slow and tender with her, from the way he moved to the way his hands grasped and gripped her.

She was on her back at first, rolling her hips in time with him; then she was on her side, one leg between his, the other up over his shoulder; on her hands and knees, his fingers squeezing her flanks and helping her buck backwards; and then finally she was atop him, her fingers dug into his shoulders as he helped her up and down, back and forth.

It was different than all the times before. It hadn't just been lust that had driven them previously, but that had been having sex or fucking one another—this time they spoke to each other in moans and panted breaths, pledged and revealed their feelings in little touches and movements. They made love, gradually building to their breaking point together.

When they came apart, Kūkaku slumped down against Byakuya, finding herself in a deep embrace before she'd even finished calling out her pleasure. She couldn't think of anything at that point but to bury into him, and didn't object when he turned with her so they were on their sides.

Neither said another word, the two of them simply holding one another as sleep quickly took them.


End file.
